Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to agricultural harvesters, and, more particularly, to agricultural harvesters equipped with sensors.
Description of the Related Art
Agricultural harvesters, such as combine harvesters, are known that include a cutter to cut through crop material and enable processing of the crop material to separate valuable crop material from non-valuable crop material. To cut through crop material, the cutter is typically mounted on a front of the agricultural harvester and driven through a field of crops so that a cutting surface of the cutter comes in contact with the crops. The cutting surface slices through the crops, severing the portion of the crop material above the cut from the portion of the crop in the ground. The severed portion of the crop material can then go through a feeder of the agricultural harvester to other systems of the agricultural harvester such as threshing, cleaning and residue systems.
Typically, the operating parameters of the agricultural harvester are manually input by the harvester's operator. Since each crop and associated crop conditions can vary during harvesting season, the agricultural harvester's operating parameters need to be adjusted constantly to optimize harvesting efficiency. The operating parameters are usually optimized through trial and error, which can lead to valuable crop material being ruined and limited harvesting time being wasted. Both occurrences reduce the amount of valuable crop material that can be harvested during the harvesting season.
Another concern when adjusting operating parameters is the presence of foreign objects, such as large rocks, in the field where the agricultural harvester is harvesting crops. These foreign objects can damage the agricultural harvester's cutter, leading to a dulled cutting surface that makes harvesting operations less efficient. In more serious cases, the foreign object can actually be scooped or fed into the agricultural harvester and make its way into the rotor which can result in expensive repairs and extensive downtime.
One known system for controlling the header of an agricultural harvester is described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,615,570. The described system includes a sensor mounted on the agricultural harvester for predicting ground contour of an area that is in front of the header. The predicted ground contour can be used to keep a header of the agricultural harvester a desired height above the ground contour or below the crop heads. The height of the crop heads is preselected as a set distance from the ground, which does not take into account that differing parts of a field may have sections with crops that have higher or lower crop heads. Another known system is described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,507,910 that includes an automatic height control system for a header on a farm implement. The height of the header is continuously controlled in response to the height of the crop that is being harvested, which is determined using sonar to detect the top of the crop. This system assumes the bottom of the crop head to be a preselected distance from the top of the crop, which may lead to excessive non-valuable crop material being harvested if the preselected distance is too large and not all of the valuable crop material being harvested if the preselected distance is too small.
What is needed in the art is an agricultural harvester that can increase the efficiency of harvesting operations.